Long Time Coming
by FadingIntoYou
Summary: Mary's on vacation and they realized they've been blind and passive. They put an end to that now. Post season 3 finale


So the song is by Oliver James, it really fits them :] I think this is what should happen, but hey, just call it wishful thinking. Review and I'll continue my other story "What They Don't Tell You About Love". This just had to be written right now. Enjoy :]

* * *

_Everybody wants to be loved  
Every once in a while  
We all need someone to hold onto  
Just like a helpless child, yeah  
Can you whisper in my ear  
Let me know it's alright _

As Marshall sits at his desk, he realizes just how stupid it was to bring up what Mary needed before her vacation. He thought she would finally realize that Marshall was putting himself out there for her, but instead got dismissed and felt like a kicked puppy. Finding out that she thought Faber was the solution to her 'messy' problem was just another kick to the gut as he pictured every sleazy thing Faber would try on Mary, and probably getting away with. His blood boiled at the thought of how he was playing Mary just to prove that he could get the fierce marshal with slippery words and well placed gestures. He headed to Stan's office with his emotions high and detectable on his face, so when he finally met Stan's eyes he knew this wasn't where he was supposed to be right now.

"Go Marshall, and this time try using you as what she needs, don't leave it up to assumptions"

_It's been a long time coming  
Down this road  
And now I know  
What I've been waitin' for  
And like a lonely highway  
I'm tryin' to get home  
Ooo, love's been a long time comin'_

30,000 feet above New Mexico made Marshall feel nauseous. It wasn't that he couldn't handle flying; if that was the case he would have picked a different career. What was getting to him though was the thought of what he was going to do when he finally reached Mexico. He realized he had a single suitcase and the clothes on his back, not to mention his heart on his sleeve, waiting to be demolished. _What am I supposed to say? "Hey Mare I was in the neighborhood, can I come in?" Or, "So, how's Faber?" _He sighed as he ran his hands through his hair and gently put his head against the window and watched the ground fade into a sea of colors fading into one another as he thought up different plans.

_You can love for a lifetime  
You can love for a day  
You can think you've got everything  
But everything is nothing  
When you throw it away, yeah  
Then look in my eyes  
And I have it all once again_

Looking into Faber's eyes made Mary's stomach drop in the most uncomfortable way imaginable. It felt wrong somehow, like he was looking for something that she had already given to someone else. There she was, by a beautiful beach in Mexico, and she felt as though there was nothing in the entire world that could make this moment any worse. Leaving Marshall had been the hardest thing to do, but seeing the look on his face when she told him Faber would be joining her still makes her eyes tear up just a little bit. He looked as if she had taken everything from him and still had the audacity to kick him while he was down. His face held a look between awe and hurt, but what hurt the most was when he said, "I hope you find what you need" in a sarcastic voice that what so uncharacteristically Marshall.

Now on the balcony with Faber just inches from her lips was when it all clicked in her mind. She jumped back as if he had burned her and he looked at her as if she had gone mental in the last 30 seconds. Cautiously he asked her if she was alright, and that's when the dam finally burst.

"No I'm not alright! You almost kissed me" and his look of confusion returned again.

"That's kind of the point Kitten…"

"That's just it, you can't! Don't you understand, I don't belong to you!"

"Ok…"

"Get out"

"What!" he exploded, "You can't just throw me out!"

"I just did. Go tell your buddies that you tried and failed to snag the marshal from hell, I'm sure they'll be very impressed with you"

"Just wait"

"No, I'm not waiting anymore. If I've learned anything in the last few minutes, waiting is the worst thing in the world next to getting the answer you were dreading"

She walked over to the door and held it open for him. He gathered his suitcase and clothes while he got dressed when she finally kicked him out.

"I don't care if you have to get dressed outside, I want you gone now" and she walked away back to the balcony, hearing the door of her room slam shut and peace falling over her. Just as the silence was becoming deafening, she heard a slight knock on her door that shook her out of her reverie.

That had been three days ago, and she didn't realize that tears had made their way down her cheek and onto the floor. She wiped her eyes and made her way to the intruder at her door.

_It's been a long time comin'  
Down this road  
And now I know  
What I've been waitin' for  
It's like a lonely highway  
I'm tryin' to get home  
Ooo, love's been a long time comin'_

Making his way down the hallway, Marshall feels the knot that formed in his stomach on the way to Mexico tighten, and couldn't help but stop in his tracks. He leaned against the nearest wall and took long, slow, deep breaths to calm himself, but all that did was make his body hyper aware of everything around him. The salty smell of the ocean breeze that wafted through the hotel, the heat radiating off the walls and windows that gave the hallway a golden hue and the fact that the oak door, polished and stained, was his partner's door just 3 feet from where he leaned made his head spin with hopes and possibilities.

Marshall knocked lightly, and thought that maybe he really hadn't knocked at all, until he saw the knob turn and the hallway being filtered with more light as his brain stalled for the first time in the days he's been in Mexico, working up the courage to see her.

_Didn't know I was lost  
Til you found me, uh huh  
Didn't know I was blind  
But now I see _

As the door widened, Mary felt the tears she wiped away come back full force as she launched herself at her partner. He dropped his suitcase just in time to catch his partner as she rested her head in his neck. He felt her tears on his skin and it gave him goose bumps that made him wrap his arms around her waist protectively as she wound her hands around his neck closer. He felt all of her against him and smiled into her hair as her crying subsided and turned into deep breaths across his cheek and neck. He stood still as he felt her breath increase and thought his knees would buckle when he felt her place a feather light kiss in the place where his neck and shoulder met. She did it again, and felt his heart rate jump at her actions.

She moved her head slightly up to nip on his earlobe and felt his hands tighten a bit more, and felt more than heard a soft moan escape him as she bit on his ear again, this time following her actions with her tongue.

She pulled back from him and took his hand as she pulled him into her room, just barely remembering his luggage before he pulled her to him again, this time making no mistake as to what he wanted and was met with enthusiasm from his best friend.

_Can you whisper in my ear?  
Let me know it's alright _

"Don't let me go ok?" she whispered into his ear a week later as they lay on her balcony. He brought her bare back to rest against his chest as he held her tightly. Under their blanket she laced her fingers with his, feeling his wedding band under her finger tips. She smiled as he traced hers as well, placing soft kissed on her shoulders and neck. He gave a slight pause to answer her,

"Til death do us part Mare, I'm not going anywhere"

He gently tugged her chin to face him and met her lips in a tender kiss that lasted seconds until she pulled him on top of her to celebrate, once again, their love for one another. Their passionate moans drowned out by the crashing waves and their sighs of contentment no more than a whisper like the leaves rustling in the trees.

There may be obstacles when they get back home, but with each other in that moment, none of it mattered because they had each other.

They always did.

_It's been a long time comin'  
Down this road  
And now I know  
What I've been searchin' for  
Oooh, been a long long highway  
And now I see  
Ooo, love's been a long time  
Oooh been a long time  
Love's been a long time comin'_


End file.
